Mother's Day

Tiffany enjoyed her first mother’s day yesterday. Natalie got her a long three and half hour nap yesterday morning and a gift certificate for a manicure and pedicure at a local nail place. I got her a balloon and a chain to put a charm on that TIffany’s grandmother had gotten her. It’s a small baby bootie with Natalie’s name and birthdate on the bottom of the foot. I do think that she was more excited to see the bag that the chain came in (Gordon’s Jewelers) than the chain itself, though she won’t admit that.

For breakfast I made waffles and then Tiffany’s parents and brothers and sisters came over for lunch which was prepared by her dad, her grandmother (who was also visiting with her aunt and grandfather) and myself. I must admit that the only “cooking” I did was buttering about half the english muffins which were the base of the eggs benedict. I did take command on cleanup though and there were plenty of dishes to wash.

Mom and Daughter on their first mother's day

Since Natalie was well rested she was a very good mood most of the afternoon. She did get talkative as the last folks were getting ready to leave which is usually an indication she is tired, but a good afternoon nonetheless. The streak was also continued yesterday, and again this morning, of her only doing number 2 while I hold her. It’s been about three weeks since anyone else has had the unique pleasure and I’ve changed every one of those diapers except one, lucky me.

Also word came last week that TIffany’s grandparents and aunt in Virginia will be coming to visit the weekend of May 19th. This is their first great grandchild and great niece so they are looking forward to meeting Natalie and I guess visiting with us.Her aunt will stay with us from Thursday-Tuesday before heading home and her grandparents will stay down the street with Tiffany’s parents. They have not planned a return trip yet so they should be here for a nice long visit. 

Easter

It’s been a busy couple weeks with Tiffany’s aunt and my mom visiting. Natalie has certainly had her fair share of attention. These two pics are from Sunday celebrating Easter with her grandparents. On Monday both Tiffany and I went to work and my mom stayed home with Natalie. That turned out to be pretty uneventful as she took two pretty long naps.

The biggest change lately has been, well, shall we say her digestion. She’s not producing has many diapers as she was, at least the extra dirty kind if you get my drift. We have read that it’s not all that uncommon for breast fed babies to go two or three days between “dirty diapers”. Over the past couple weeks she has skipped a day pretty regularly but yesterday by 6 in the evening she was approaching day 3. Just as I was trying to figure out exactly when the last time she went was, I felt a rumble beneath my hand (she was sitting on my lap on the couch). Well, it wasn’t long before she was playing the butt flute load and proud and for everyone in a three block radius to here. 

Since Tiffany was making dinner, dear old dad got to discover what her musical interlude had produced. Without getting too specific, let’s just say it was extra special and that it looks like we’ve taken a turn to another level of waste production. Of course this happened on my lap so I was sure to check my shirt and shorts to make sure I was not victimized again. I was in the clear, but Natalie enjoyed my reaction as I changed her, laughing and giggling the entire time. 

Natalie’s collection of toys and apparatus is growing. We added the activity mat a few weeks back if you remember and before Grandma left she purchased the exersaucer. I’m not sure if that’s how you spell it but basically the child sits in it and can turn the seat all the way around to play with different things. Anyway, it’s sitting in the corner of our office right now since she is still a little too young for it.  

Of course Mother’s Day is approaching and the questions have started to come in as to what Natalie will be getting her mom. My response is usually that she doesn’t have too much in her piggy bank so probably nothing that spectacular. :)

Happy St. Patrick's Day

It occurred to me this morning that this time last year we were in Las Vegas. Not a bad time to be in Las Vegas, St. Patrick’s Day, beginning of the NCAA tournament, anyway, obviously trips like that are not in our future anytime soon.

Natalie and I are preparing for a busy day. I’m doing some work, she’s enjoying a nap. If you don’t know, for the first time ever, every NCAA tournament game is being broadcast in its entirety live. I’ve been stretching my thumb for weeks in anticipation.

Anyway, lucky for Natalie that the Penn State vs. Temple game will be broadcast down here in Texas at 1 local time. I don’t think it’s particularly good draw for our Nittany Lions and Natalie agrees. At 5:45, Florida tips off so we have a double header of sorts. We’ll fill the gap with some feedings and diaper changing. Some friends that are also Penn State alums sent some PSU gear, but it’s still a little big. It will be perfect for football season and she has her outfit for today anyway, as you see here. (I took the picture after she woke up and ate and I changed her). 

Tiffany returned to work yesterday for good and will start her schedule of being in the office four days and home one next week. She will be home Wednesday’s and I will be home Thursday’s. Monday, Tuesday and Friday Natalie will have some time at Nana’s down the street. We hope this is a good mix of not overburdening Tiffany’s parents and also having some time with her ourselves. We’re obviously very fortunate to be able to have such a schedule and adjust our time at home accordingly.

People keep saying that Natalie is extremely alert for a two-month old and doing a good job with her neck. I’ve never been around a newborn for this long before so I couldn’t tell you if they are just being nice or if in fact this is true. Her hair and facial expressions do give her an older appearance though. She still has a lot of hair so we’re pretty sure that’s not going anywhere.

Yesterday we set a record for diapers within a given time span. I picked her up at Nana’s around 5 and came home and changed her and fed her soon after. By 7, we were on to diaper number four since arriving at the house. They were all also what I call “combo platters”, I’m sure you can figure that out. Anyway, her kidneys and digestive tract are obviously working fine.

Natalie continues to sleep through the night. We wake up before she does every morning, including the weekends and when she does wake up she rarely cries. Tiffany sometimes has to wake her up to feed her before she leaves for work. I’m sure if we left her alone long enough she probably would start to cry. Other parents seem somewhat irritated that she is such a good sleeper. During the day is a different story. She isn’t a big napper so if she takes a nap for 2 hours, that’s usually pretty good. Typically, she takes a lot of cat naps, so by the end of the day she looks kind of tired and is pretty cranky. After about 5, if she’s not being fed or changed, she’s usually not in the best mood. She’ll be waking up shortly and will probably be ready to eat again so I better prepare for that. She has FAR less patience when I feed her than when Tiffany does so the sooner that bottle is ready, the better.